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GREEN TRANSPORTATION AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION COMPARED STUDY
BETWEEN ‘EGYPT’ AND ‘CHINA’
Dr. AMIRA HASSAN ABDOU MOHAMED
Lecturer, Tourism Studies Department, October 6 University, Egypt
ABSTRACT
Whilst the relationship between transport and tourism has been a subject of discussion in the literature, paper has
focused primarily on an evaluation of transport as a means to an end rather than as a contextual component of the
tourism offering, especially at the destination. Understanding tourists' use of public transport at the destination is
important for sustainable mobility, destination satisfaction, public transportation management and destination
management. This paper identifies main topics and issues including how public transport is used for tourism purposes in
different contexts.
Transportation system in developing countries is suffering from many problems such as: traffic congestion, lack of
reliable and safe public transportation, road accidents, and difficulties for non-motorized transport. Transportation
sector is the highest sector responsible for negative environmental impacts in the cities.
A continuous economic development in China during recent years brings about a rapid urbanization and
motorization, as well as a growing demand for mobility. Many cities and other local governments in China have designed
and implemented innovative policies and projects aimed at facilitating and improving mobility, whilst reducing energy
intensity, fuel use and emissions per person-kilometer travelled.
Meanwhile, Egypt as a famous tourist country has projects decrease pollution at the tourist cities and historical
sites, such as UNDP’s project, which will be mentioned in the paper, as an example for the Egyptian efforts facing the
pollution which will affect negatively on tourism.
The study will illustrate the Egyptian and the Chinese examples, as great tourist countries, facing the world
pollution in order to keep their huge segments of tourists, and trying to create a new source of attraction which is the
green means of transportation.
KEYWORDS: Sustainable transportation, Public transportation, Tourist transportation & Traffic congestion
Received: Jun 10, 2020; Accepted: Jun 30, 2020; Published: Jul 24, 2020; Paper Id.: IJMPERDJUN2020446
List of Abbreviations
(PT) Public transportation (WTO) World Tourism Organization
(GCMA) Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area
(EPA) Environmental protection agency
(BRT) Bus Rapid Transit
(CAPMAS) Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics
(UNDP) United Nations Development Program
(GEF) Global Environment Facility
(NMT) Non-Motorized Transport
(TDM) Transport Demand Management
Orig
ina
l Article
International Journal of Mechanical and Production
Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)
ISSN (P): 2249–6890; ISSN (E): 2249–8001
Vol. 10, Issue 3, Jun 2020, 4709-4728
© TJPR Pvt. Ltd.
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INTRODUCTION
Research Importance
The transportation sector is vital to the success of tourism industry. The development of transportation, transportation
vehicles, infrastructure and using new technologies in this sector speed up the development of tourism. If we pay attention
to the statistics of World Tourism Organization, we may see that the tourism dynamics has changed and increased rapidly
between 2005 and 2015, in 2010 international tourist arrivals rose to 940 million. This in turn brought the economies $980
billion. This trend can be explained with different factors. But the main important factor here is the rapid development of
transportation sector and application of technological innovations which enable the tourists to reach many destinations of
the world.
When a tourist visits, he wants to be able to move around without too many hindrances, so that he could explore
those beautiful tourism sites that we have prepared for his pleasure. But when a journey of twenty minutes turns to two or
three hours, as is being witnessed daily in Cairo, then it left little or nothing to be desired by tourists and travelers.
Incidentally it is situations like this that discourage tourists and fun seekers, it is what also discourage or stunt the growth
of tourism. And it further keeps us away from our goal of diversifying our economy by selling our atmosphere, which is
what tourism business is all about.
Research problems
The issue of transportation infrastructure and its impact on tourism development has not earned enough attention.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of transportation infrastructure in tourism development,
look at the problems that we face today and presenting possible solutions and recommendations.
Approximately LE47 billion ($8 billion) is lost every year in the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area (GCMA) due to
traffic congestion, and this is expected to rise to LE105 billion by 2030, according to a World Bank study released this
summer.
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Green Transportation Concept
Transportation simply is a mean that takes passengers or goods from one place to other. Yet the traditional modes of
transportation are depending on fossil fuel which contributes with 27% according to U.S environmental protection agency
(EPA). So now the trend is to turn transportation green by starting relying on eco-friendly means of transportation.
(www.ierek.com)
1.1 Types of Green Transportation
a. Electric Bicycle
It’s a modified kind of bicycles in which there is a small electrical engine that needs the power to work and this power
comes from just light peddling the advantages are faster than a traditional bicycle, does not emit any gases that cause
pollution. Yet the disadvantages of this type are its complexity which means that this bicycle is consisting of many parts
which makes its repairing much harder, also its engine malfunctions after short while.
b. Electric Cars
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This car is simple in terms of how it works, a battery is included in the car and stores electricity once the car works
electrical current power the engine it can be charged once in the day. But unfortunately, the main disadvantage of this car is
its limited range as most of the car has low range, on the other hand, it’s very cheap and affordable, and the recharging of
the battery doesn’t take time.
c. Green Trains
With most of the governments are now supporting the shift towards eco- friendly transportation electrical trains became a
necessity, the electric trains work with hanging wires and electrified rails it can go up to 200 MPH which saves a lot of
time and gives more efficiency in connecting destinations with each other. However, any failure in electricity supply would
lead to brain malfunction.
d. Service and Freight Vehicles
According to the U.S environmental protection agency (EPA), 9% of the transport sector pollution is because of trucks and
busses. So the usage and utilization of bio-fuel and electricity would help to reduce the number of gasses emission and it
has the economic impact as the low cost of bio-fuel would be reflected on the cost of transporting hence the price of either
the service or the goods.
e. Electric Motorcycles
It’s a bike that rely completely on battery, it’s equipped with plug to recharge and it does not emit any kind of gases,
nonetheless contain many disadvantages which are the cost of production as the cost of 1 unit is about 7,000$, in addition
to that lack of maintenance shops and finally the cost of spare parts.
f. Hybrid Cars
Hybrid cars which can go with either fuel or electricity the main advantage of this car is being automatically recharged
while the car is in braking stage. The disadvantage of this car is that the main source of power that runs the engine is the
fuel, not the electricity hence in terms of pollution it will not be 100% clean.
g. Hybrid Buses
Mercedes-Benz had launched the hybrid bus series which is called Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid Bus which is
working with fuel whether it’s diesel or natural gas and with 4 electrical wheel hub motors together with automotive
lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion battery is regarded as the world’s largest. The battery has the capacity to store up vast
amounts of energy derived from a diesel generator. The bus also generates energy in the course breaking. (www.ierek.com)
h. Walking
Many consider walking as an eco-friendly mode of transportation because it doesn’t cost money and it’s healthy.
(www.ierek.com)
1.2 Advantages of Green Transportation
1.2.1 Limitation of Gas Emission
The main aim of the green transportation is to reduce or cut the amount of gas emission which leads to decrease in
pollution rates.
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1.2.2 Low cost
Most of the green transportation modes are made from low-cost materials and it’s using low-cost energy. As for example,
the charge of the electric car would cost 3.64 £ compared to 1.16 £ per liter.
The fully charged electrical cargoes for 115 miles (185 KM) however this distance would consume about 18.5
liters of fuel on average basis which costs 20.88 £
1.2.3 Building Sustainable Economy
Going green will lead to huge investments in the sector of transportation as the less operating cost will lead to creating
many jobs because more industries will grow, As for example in rural areas or inhabited areas people will leave the city.
(www.ierek.com)
2. Strategies and Methods toward Green Transportation
Sustainable urban transportation system requires strengthening the features of the system and addressing them in an
integrated manner. Pardo stated that ‘these features include mobility, accessibility, affordability, social equity, efficiency,
safety, security, convenience, low carbon, comfort, and people- and environment-friendliness.’ We cannot deal with urban
transportation as an isolated aspect; it should be considered and studied with the other urban life aspects. (Pardo C., 2012)
2.1. Toward Sustainable Public Transportation
Public transportation services play an important role for a huge number of people who are without access to personal
vehicles. Therefore, public transportation services must be available all the time, reliable and safe. The following are
examples of sustainable and high-quality public transportation systems:
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): it is favored in many countries because the cost of implementation is moderate and the
duration of implementation is relatively short. BRT provides a quick, safe and reliable service to all levels of the
society.
Subway and light-rail systems: large numbers of commuters depend on it because it is quick, cost-effective and
environmentally friendly.
Metro: a large number of commuters depend on it as their main transportation, but its implementation is costly, it
takes years for implementation. It is costly to maintain, but at the long term, there are significant economic, social
and environmental benefits.
Non-Motorized Transport: walking and cycling are highly promoted because they do not emit any harmful
emissions, they improve human health. (Pardo C.,2012)
2.2. Urban planning considerations
Achieving sustainable and green transportation is complex and has many goals. It requires the preparation of a strategic
planning framework. Strategic planning requires the creation of a vision that expands beyond the traditional ‘predict and
provide’ concept. Effective transportation plans need to identify the guidelines that support the plan’s vision. Without this
guidance, decision-makers can only guess the actions required of them, leading inevitably to arbitrary actions.
Provincial planning legislation usually requires local authorities to review their master plans on a regular basis,
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according to the duration stated in the plan’s strategy. However, in most countries, transportation plans are neither prepared
nor governed by any legislation. Therefore, it is essential for transportation planners to prepare transportation master plans,
identify a process and a timeline for regular reviews, updates, and renew their plans to achieve a better quality of life for
people (Urban Transportation Council, 2007)
3. Public Transportation in Egypt
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. ‘The current population of Egypt is 99,848,768,
based on the latest United Nations estimates; it ranks number 14 in the list of countries by population.
Cairo is the capital of Egypt, ‘with a 2016 estimated population of 12 million, with a metropolitan population of 20.5
million, which makes it the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, and the 17th largest metropolitan area in the world.
Mainly in Egypt, the factor that causes of traffic congestion is the inefficient and inadequate public transport, the
population of Egypt increased rapidly during the last years, increase of private cars. Additionally, traffic congestion has
increased dramatically because of the lack of public transport and ignoring it by the governments.
Besides that, some reasons contributed to increase traffic congestion such as, inefficient traffic management
systems and insufficient public awareness. As a result of all previous reasons, the environmental pollution (air and noise)
was increasing, and a slight negative impact on the economy in general was happening.
Another effect due to traffic congestion is increasing in death rates by 41.6 (per 100,000 populations) which is
considered as the highest compared to other countries in the world.
There are two types of public transport in Egypt: formal and informal. The formal modes of public transport are
licensed and work according to laws and regulations. The informal modes are not licensed and are not working according
to laws and regulations.
The informal public transport sector is a rising market responding to the shortage of formal transport in some
areas. The most widespread informal public transport is the Tuk Tuk. It is a three-wheeled motorcycle vehicle. It is very
common in informal settlements, low-level neighborhoods, and countryside. Another informal public mode is a Suzuki (a
seven-seat small minibus) which operates on relatively short routes, does not have a specific-formal route and pickups.
(http://worldpopulationreview.com)
Means of transport varies from one governorate to another depending on several factors such as; the number of
populations, rural or urban governorate, economic status, main city or not, etc. For example; in rural areas, people depend
on bicycles, motorcycles, animals (mainly donkeys) and walking rather than vehicles and buses, which is much different
from urban areas.
Means of public transport in Egypt, classified by ownership, are:
Bus (public ownership)
Mini-bus (public & private ownership)
Micro-bus (private ownership)
Metro (public ownership)
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Taxi, Uber. Careem (private ownership)
Nile Ferry (public ownership)
Airplane
Train (public ownership)
Tram (public ownership)
Motorcycles (private ownership)
Bus between governorates (private ownership)
Bicycles (private ownership)
Suzuki (private ownership)
Animals (horse & donkey) (private ownership)
Boats (private ownership)
Lorry and trucks, with all kinds and sizes ( M. Elkaramany,2015)
4. Transportation Problems Related to Tourism in Egypt
Unfortunately in Egypt we have a lot of what was mentioned earlier about what some countries miss, unfortunately
because in Egypt we have public transportation to almost every place in Egypt, we have a metro network and we have
trains, all of that is available in our country but no tourist would even think about using any of what was mentioned,
because of the bad service and the bad quality of these means of transportation and because the lack of security and the
incensement of tourists harassment, but we also suffer from some of the same things the world suffers from, Bad road
network, Lack of trained personnel, Bad services, The greed of taxi drivers and the Biggest problem “Traffic congestion”.
When it comes to tourism the transportation sector also suffers from some problems that started to surface in the
past few years here in Egypt, Problems Like:
Tourist transport fleets that have not been renovated since the 2011 revolution.
The large deficit and the need for trained drivers to work in the field of tourism, where the deficit is more than
15000 drivers at the moment.
4.1. Railways Accidents
Although it is the largest network in the Middle East and the Arab world, however According to the Central Agency for
Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the past 12 years have seen an average of 1,041 train accidents on an annual
basis. A total of 13,539 train accidents occurred between 2004 and 2016, reports CAPMAS, citing numbers released by the
National Railway Authority of Egypt.
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Figure 1: Number of Train Accidents in Egypt
(Source: egyptianstreets.com, 2017)
In the following lines we will present some of the biggest problems that the railways suffer from:
i. The railway system uses the old German locomotive, which is more than 50 years old.
ii. Severe shortage of spare parts.
iii. Poor maintenance.
iv. Use of semaphores and signals that do not work in the first place.
v. Lack of safety equipment and tracer devices in trains.
vi. Broken train rods.
vii. Worn out vehicles.
viii. Soft soil and basalt.
ix. Failure to implement safety precautions.
x. Significant wage disparities among workers.
Transport speed has become one of the measures of economic progress, the average speed of transport in Cairo is
10 km per hour and it is among the worst in the world today. The trip time is about 100 minutes and there is a shortage of
parking places and Cairo needs 450,000 parking spaces.
4.2. Traffic Congestion in Egypt
There are many reasons for Traffic Congestion in Egypt, such as:
- Population growth in the delta region and the very poor population distribution.
- Lack of strict traffic laws and non-compliance with traffic lanes and primitive traffic laws.
- Means of transportation owned by individuals, not the government or specialized companies.
- There are no specific stops and no time limit system.
- Bad road network, its ability to absorb and discharge daily traffic volume
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- The shops and street vendor’s occupation of the street sidewalk lane and one or two lanes from the street.
- Car parking not even is in the second lane but most of the time in the third lane as well.
- People placing rock blocks in front of their property to prevent other people from parking.
Data Obtained through Direct Observation
Overall Perception Evidence from Observation
Poor Traffic Control
Huge numbers of street vendors were setting up at the roadsides.
Many “tuk tuk” were seen parking at the road sides.
Absence of traffic officers on duty.
Irresponsible road users
Many drivers did not follow the traffic flow.
Many drivers tend to jump red lights.
Many cars were found simply halt and parked besides the roads.
Irresponsible Street Vendors The set-up of street stalls was overly beyond the limit.
The hawkers were inclined in ignoring other road users.
5. Sustainable Transport Project for Egypt
According to Fathy, M. (2009) the “Sustainable Transport Project for Egypt” which developed by United Nations
Development Program UNDP, Global Environment Facility GEF and Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency the main
objective is implement numerous projects aiming to:
Reduce the increasing of the energy consumption and the related greenhouse gas emissions of the Egyptian
transport sector.
Relieve the negative impacts of the increasing traffic on local environment such as the urban air quality
congestion and deterioration.
UNDP (2008) mentions the main project components as follows:
Promoting modal shift from private cars to sustainable integrated public transport for Greater Cairo & its satellite
cities (Public Private Partnerships).
Promoting modal share of Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) in medium size cities, such new networks with
improved facilities for walking and cycling.
Introduce new Transport Demand Management (TDM) measures with an objective to expand it towards more
aggressive measures overtime to effectively discourage use of private cars when good quality public transport
services are available.
Improving energy efficiency of freight transport.
Enhancing the awareness & capacity, and strengthening the institutional basis to promote sustainable transport.
(Fathy, M., 2009)
6. Transportation as a Tourist Attraction in China
Tourism in china is very important and its rising very fast and china is expected to be the most visited country in the world
by 2020, a big part of china's tourism is its rural tourism because a big part of the tourists that visit or want to visit china
are interested in this kind of tourism, but it was hard for tourists to reach such places in china overall and in the rural areas
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surrounding Shanghai because there was no transportation to such places, but now with the massive transportation
development with the railway system and it’s development to link with neighboring countries, the underground metro, road
network development and the tourist transportation buses, we can easily reach any destination that we want to go to
anywhere in china right now.
Good transportation conditions can promote the healthy and stable development of tourism. All countries and
regions with developed transportation industries are relatively developed.
China's international tourism industry first originated from the developed aviation port cities such as Beijing,
Shanghai and Guangzhou, and then spread to other large and medium-sized cities with more developed transportation
industries.
China's territory is very vast, and the proportion of tourism transportation expenses is relatively large. According
to the statistics of the National Tourism Administration, in 2002, the national tourism enterprises realized a total foreign
exchange income of 20.385 billion US dollars, of which long-distance traffic was 5.26 billion US dollars, accounting for
25.8% of total revenue; city transportation services were 882 million US dollars, accounting for 4.3% of total revenue.
Both incomes together accounted for 30.1% of total revenue.
Domestic tourism transportation revenue also accounts for more than one-third or even higher in domestic tourism
revenue. It can be seen that the tourism transportation industry is the main channel for tourism to earn foreign exchange,
with strong foreign exchange earnings and currency recovery capabilities.
In 1978, an estimated 1.8 million tourists entered the country, In 1999, with the start of the transportation
development over 700 million trips were made by domestic tourists, By 2000, China welcomed over 10 million new
overseas visitors, As of 2015, China is the fourth most visited country in the world, after France, United States, and Spain,
with 56.9 million international tourists per year.
In 2017, tourism contributed about CNY 8.77 trillion (USD 1.35 trillion), 11.04% of the GDP, and contributed
direct and indirect employment of up to 28.25 million people. There were 139.48 million inbound trips and five billion
domestic trips, all of this is a result of the transportation development and how transportation became a tourist attraction.
Shanghai is a city that suffered from a very bad traffic jams and bad road network, 15 years ago the overall extra
travel time could go up to 3 hours every day, still to this day shanghai sometimes suffers from traffic jams, but also right
now the overall extra travel time in shanghai is 46 minutes every day when there is some traffic congestion.
Basically, the massive development in the subway system is right now the longest subway system in the world
overtaking cities like Berlin and New York.
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Figure 2: Public Urban Rail Network Lenght
(Source: sustainabletransport.org, 2018)
This is a Comparison of subway/urban public rail network length in Beijing, Shanghai, Berlin and Munich 1975-
2015.
Since then, the city not only grew its population to more than 26 million inhabitants each, the city also expanded
the metro network to become the longest in the world with a length of 676km connecting 413 subway stations on 16 lines
respectively, with 3.71 billion rides delivered in 2018, with Over 10 million people use the system on an average workday.
The next graph shows Beijing's population growth and its subway network length from 1975 to 2015.
Figure 3: Beijing and Shanghai Population and Public Transportation Development
(Source: sustainabletransport.org, 2018)
The following graph shows the development of Beijing’s subway network length and number of stations from
1975 to 2015.
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Figure 4: Beijing and Shanghai Subway Station Numbers and Network Length
(Source: sustainabletransport.org, 2018)
One more thing they did is applying strict laws with a new traffic initiative started in 2016, mayor of Shanghai
said, in the past, our overhauls focused on trying to solve congestion rather than making people obey the traffic rules. In
other words, the traffic police used to try and ensure smooth traffic flow rather than deal with the root cause of traffic jams,
so they always failed.
The overall aims of this traffic initiative are to encourage people to be more considerate of one another, and to
improve the general environment for road users. There are three main things. The first is a quieter city — so fewer car
horns. They have established and enforced “no-blaring zones” and clamped down on illegal horn use. Even though it might
seem like a small act, this kind of behavior is uncivilized and encourages road rage.
7. Green Transportation in China
The year 2011 was a historic moment in the urbanization of China, as its urban population exceeded its rural population for
the first time. About 350 million new urban residents are expected to migrate to cities over the coming 20 years. Urban
development on such a scale is both a challenge and an opportunity for urban transport.
Locally, the rapid growth in car ownership has enabled greater personal mobility for many but has also brought
traffic congestion, accidents, and air pollution. Slow and congested transport systems are beginning to stifle the efficiency
of the urban economy. The construction of new roads to accommodate traffic leads to urban sprawl and accelerated traffic
growth and hampers the mobility of those who do not own a car.
Nationally, excessive conversion of farmland for urban development consumes scarce land resources and impacts
the country’s ecological systems. Rising fuel consumption also endangers the nation’s long-term energy security, while
growing emissions from urban transport render the national objectives of CO2 reduction difficult to achieve.
But this rapid urbanization also represents an opportunity, as the recognition of urban transport’s spillover effects
has led to a new policy emphasis on public transport priority and sustainable urban transport development. National policy
has been promoting a ‘people-centered’ development concept, which emphasizes the movement of people rather than the
movement of vehicles. It also calls for developing a “resource-saving and environmentally-friendly” society in line with
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the national CO2 intensity target of a 40-45% reduction from 2005 levels by 2020. (www.worldbank.org)
Given these goals, Chinese cities have an opportunity to plan the development of their cities in a way that
minimizes the need for travel and directs a large share of investment towards the development of safe, clean and affordable
transport systems.
To seize this opportunity and help turn this policy direction into on the ground actions, the Government of China
and the World Bank have been strengthening their partnership to support sustainable urban transport. While urban transport
historically represented 8 percent of World Bank lending in the transport sector in China, it now represents 36 percent of
all transport projects either ongoing or under preparation (17 projects with a total value of about US$2 billion).
The composition of these projects is also shifting from an earlier focus on road infrastructure development to a
more diverse and comprehensive development agenda which covers public transport, traffic engineering and management,
road safety, travel demand management, walking and cycling, sustainable land use planning, and integration across modes.
This program of lending and analytical work aims at accelerating the ongoing transformation in urban transport
policy and practice in China, by supporting development of national level policy frameworks, piloting institutional and
technological innovations with potential for scale up, and accelerating the shift to more sustainable forms of transport.
(www.worldbank.org)
China has been pushing green mobility solutions and developed a public transport and non-motorized transport
eco-system that is unmatched by any country with a similar economic development level (in terms of GDP per capita) and
few developed economies:
China has 35 cities with subway systems, including the two cities with the longest subway systems in the world
(Shanghai with 676 km and Beijing with 628 km)
China has an extensive public bus system in all major cities, operating 99% of the global electric bus fleet with
more than 430.000 electric buses;
China’s high-speed rail system covers about 30.000 km, connecting 200 Chinese cities and providing transport
for 10 billion passengers in the first quarter of 2019 alone;
China offers several million shared bikes to about 60 million active users every month.
As a consequence, compared to most other countries, China’s urban population is often choosing more sustainable
transport modes, such as public transportation and demand-driven modes. In this case, we assume that demand-driven
modes can be sustainable if they replace mostly private car trips and thus reduce private car ownership and space use for
cars. China also continues to invest in green transportation, such as railway, subway, and bus. In Beijing and Shanghai, for
example, subway lengths are expected to almost double over the next 5 years. To finance public transport expansion, many
urban mobility providers have issued green bonds
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Figure 5: Modal shift required to move to Green Transport in China by 2030
(Source: International Institute of Green Finance)
Government departments have launched an action plan to reduce private car use and encourage people to use
public transport, in a bid to build a green transportation network by 2022.
The initiative, launched recently by 12 departments, including the Ministry of Transport, the National
Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, aims to build a transportation
system that is environmentally friendly, emits less carbon and is more energy-efficient. The plan requires authorities to
implement traffic management measures to reduce the number of private cars on the road when there is heavy traffic
congestion. It also says policies such as discounts on car insurance should be introduced to benefit drivers willing to reduce
car use. And authorities should also speed up construction of parking lots at interchange hubs to encourage private car
owners to transfer to public transportation as a way to reduce private car use. (www.worldbank.org)
According to the plan, authorities should promote differentiated pricing standards for parking fees according to
location and time of day. Expressway toll booths and public parking lots should implement fast, nonstop electronic toll
collection systems and mobile payment systems to reduce costs and improve traffic flow. It also encourages local transport
companies to explore diversified public transportation services such as customized buses, night buses and community
buses, as well as electronic devices at bus stops and mobile apps to provide the public with real-time information about bus
services. The plan calls for noncash payment methods for public transport, such as mobile payment, to be promoted
nationwide and for more subway ticket options, including weekly and daily passes, to be introduced for tourism. Efforts
will be also made to facilitate convenient and timesaving transfers for passengers by integrating fare systems of different
transport services including planes, high-speed trains and subways. Beijing Transport Institute president Guo Jifu said the
plan reaffirmed China’s goal of building a safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical modern transport system
during the period covered by the 13th Five-Year Plan. (chinadaily.com.cn)
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8. Examples for Tourist Cities in China
8.1 ‘Shanghai’ City
Shanghai is the most crowded city in China and the most populated city in the world. It is one of the four direct-controlled
regions of China, with a population of more than 26 million as per 2018.
Shanghai, is a renowned international metropolis drawing more and more attention from all over the world.
Situated on the estuary of Yangtze River, it serves as the most influential economic, financial, international trade, and
cultural center in East China. Also, it is a popular travel destination for visitors to sense the pulsating development of the
country.
The priority of greening urban transport in Chinese cities is to improve the light rail transit system. Shanghai
currently has a light rail network with 11 lines, 289 stations, and an operating length of some450 kilometers, including a 30
km long magnetic levitation model line (Maglev). The average daily ridership is 5.5 million passengers. A ridership record
of 7 million passengers per day was recorded on October 1, 2010, China’s National Day holiday.
In December 2000, a 25 kilometer long new line called “Dragon in the Air” was built on the 80-year-oldSonghu
Railway roadbed. It was the first elevated railway line in China. People initially called it “Pearl Line”, but it was later
changed to “Line 3”, in accordance with the uniform numbering system.
The Shanghai Metro uses overhead wires for the power supply, providing 1500 volt DC system which Shanghai
Light Rail Transit Network in 2011 Shanghai Light Rail Transit Network Planned for 2020 twice the voltage generally
used for the light rail system. (Www. Uncsd2012.org)
In addition to its modernization, the city's multicultural flair endows it with a unique glamour. Here, one finds the
perfect blend of cultures, the modern and the traditional, and the western and the oriental. The following means of
transportation are application for the green tourism transportation in Shanghai:
A) City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus
City Sightseeing Bus Tour allows you to explore Shanghai easily. You’ll see famous Shanghai landmarks aboard this
open-top double decker bus that you’ll be able to hop on and off for 48 hours.
There are four different lines you can take with your City Sightseeing Bus Tour; you can take the Red Line, the Green
Line, the Yellow Line, and the Violet Line – all of which pass by some of the top tourist attractions and sights. No matter
where you ride, you’re going to be able to cross a ton of things off your Shanghai bucket list. Once on board, you should
take advantage of the narrated tour, available in 8 different languages, so you can learn more about the city as you go.
B) Shanghai River Cruise
River tours are very popular in shanghai and you can't visit shanghai without going on a river cruise and there's a lot of
river tours in shanghai and the top-rated ones are: The bund, Zhouzhuang, Nanxun and The Huangpu River — "the Mother
River of Shanghai"
8.2 ‘Guilin’ City
Guilin, an International Tourist City Combining short-term measures, mid-term objectives and long-term strategy to
Green Transportation as a Tourist Attraction 4723
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achieve sustainable transport networks Guilin is a famous tourist city with a long cultural history, one of the four major
Chinese tourist citiesrecognized by the World Tourism Organization. It is located in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, with a population of 590,000, and land coverage of 565 square kilometers.
The Guilin area belongs to the Karst formation. The limestone weathered and eroded over millions of years has
formed forests of peaks of fantastic shapes, as well as labyrinths of dissolved caves. The special geomorphology, together
with the fascinating Lijiang River and charming pastoral scenery forms a unique, picturesque landscape. It is reputed as
“the four matchless”: green hills, crystal waters, fantastic caves and marvelously shaped rocks. The picturesque landscape
of Guilin has attracted many visitors and poets and wrote lengthy pieces and articles. The most famous places of interest
are the Prince City of Ming Dynasty, Sea of Osman thus Trees with Forest of Steles, Solitary Beauty Peak, Elephant Trunk
Hill, Seven Star Crag, Reed Flute Cave and the Banyan Lake. The Lijiang River and the hills flanking both sides from
Guilin to Yangshuo are particularly scenic and popular among tourists.
In recent years Guilin City has started a new initiative of tourism development. Comprehensive management and
environmental engineering has contributed to the development of a modern international tourist city. Guilin City invited
many renowned experts to contribute to the planning process, which combines short-term measures, mid-term objectives
and long-term strategy to achieve a sustainable transport network. Guilin takes protecting the natural ecological
environment as a lifeline for tourism and economic development. For three consecutive years Guilin has been ranked first
among 50 major tourist cities nationwide in this regard.
The public transportation in Guilin is well developed. Intercity buses and taxis are available for local
transportation. Various trains and airlines connect the city to many other major cities. The Liangjiang International Airport
is 28 km from Guilin City and can handle five million passengers a year on 48 air routes. It also services five international
air routes to Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Thailand, and Republic of Korea. There are also many domestic cities with direct
flights to Guilin. Guilin has two railway stations and is the largest rail hub in Southern China. There are eight special
tourism buses servicing 110local routes free of charge. These buses are the best way to access the natural parks and sites
around Guilin. Both foreigners and locals can use this service. Buses also link Guilin to surrounding cities like Yangshuo,
Quanzhou, Lipu, and Longsheng. The most popular and spectacular way to get from Guilin to Yangshuo is cruising on the
Lijiang River. (Www. Uncsd2012.org)
Guilin has three transport networks in operation: the normal route network, peak hour route network, and
overnight route network. Most of the roads have mixed functions: bike, e-bike, bus, cars and tricycles, but public transport
is given priority.
To answer the call of “greening” urban transport, the Guilin Transport Authorities took the following measures as
part of an energy-saving and emission-reduction campaign:
Establish an effective system for assessment and measurement of fuel consumption;
Promote the use of methanol tourist ferry boats on the Lijiang River;
Practice a “One Route, One Company” system for road transport;
Encourage transport enterprises to modernize their vehicles and boats
In 2010,the city’s transport energy consumption for goods transportation dropped by 8 per cent compared with
4724 Dr. Amira Hassan Abdou Mohamed
Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
2005. Transport energy consumption for passengers transportation dropped by 6.3 per cent over the same period. (Www.
Uncsd2012.org)
In 2011, Guilin City reinforced additional measures for energy saving and emission reduction:
Disseminate scientific research results to promote recycling of transport waste and scrap, and encourage
companies and individuals to use recyclable materials, techniques;
Strict control and enhancement of retrofitting vehicles and boats and promote dual fuel taxis, hybrid ships, electric
buses, multi spindle heavy trucks and dumping trailers.
Implement regulations issued by the State Ministry of Transport and raise passenger ship load rate to full capacity.
Encourage Drive Training using advanced facilities that are in accord with energy conservation and emission
reduction.
From time to time, the city authority launches campaigns to encourage green transport and lifestyles. For instance
on September 22, to observe the World Car Free Day, city authorities propagate the “Green Transport, Low-Carbon
Lifestyle”, and motivate more residents to buy electric cars and electric bikes. The Cycling Club of the city holds “Around
the City” Races as sports event, as well as to raise public awareness of low-carbon traveling options
For the mid-term development objectives, in accordance with the National 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015),
Guilin will:
Build a second airport to be a more efficient international tourist transport hub
Build more railways to link more lines to cities such as Nanning-Liuzhou, Baise-Guilin-Gangzhou, Zhangjiajie-
Guilin-Yulin, as well as Guilin-Hengyang (Hunan) and Guilin-Guangzhou(Guangdong)
For bus lines, Xing’an-Guilin, Yangshuo-Luzhai-Guilin-Sanjiang (three rivers), and the Guanyang-Quanzhou-
Lipu-Yulin Expressway Networks, and then further build a county-city
One-hour economic circle and regional intercity two-hour economic circle
Strengthen inter-township highway building and form an urban-rural integration network.
Build Lijing River-Guijiang River waterways, and join the economic belts of Jiangxi Province. (Www.
Uncsd2012.org)
RESULTS
Sustainable transportation is one aspect we cannot live without in these days. It has a significant role in the urban
development process
A positive correlation between trained stuff and their friendly treatment and information about availability of aids/
equipments at attraction proves how the delivery of tourism services and facilities are extensively interdependent
on functional and technical quality respectively.
It is evident that the tourists visit for leisure and recreation purpose are repeat visitors with high travel propensity
and frequency than the alternative tourists.
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Public transportation problem is very vicious and a huge crisis in Egypt. The most critical problems are: traffic
congestion, low quality public transportation systems, high traffic accidents and high rates of emissions and air
pollution. These problems have negative effects on the quality of life and the tourist activities.
Local involvement and empowerment is essential for the development, management and operation of tourism
industry in Egypt, which leads to promotion of tourism as suggested by the respondents.
In the transportation sector, the use of nonrenewable energy and emissions resulting from this energy combustion
makes it the biggest sector responsible for the climate destruction.
The Egyptian government launched a new project that aims to construct an underground metro in Cairo to
decrease traffic congestion and using older cars which increase air pollution.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The world experience in tackling the complex congestion problem in cities is focused primarily on two basic
solutions: improving public transport and making the use of private vehicles expensive. The government was
considering diverse solutions to reduce traffic congestion, according to a government representative; the
government understood that the public transport is the biggest issue in the country right now.
Having a good and diverse transport system of metro, buses, taxi, fixing roads …etc.
Distributing the public facilities over the city, you cannot have a district with all the facilities that people need and
does not expect a traffic jam.
Introducing the culture of bikes and motor Bicycle.
Work to make the road network able to absorb and manage traffic flows at a safe speed and without causing a
bottleneck situation, either by modifying the existing road network or by creating new ways to enhance existing
network power.
Confronting the behavioral causes by applying strict laws on traffic violations.
Convert the Egyptian Railway Authority into a company managed by a stock system.
Complete Preparation study for a plan of replacement and renewal for the railway system. This study should take
into consideration the implementation of the latest specifications of the era and possibilities of commercial
expansion in the east, west and south to activate inter-trade between Egypt and other Arab countries.
Establishing a specialized training center with the latest machinery and educational programs and bring to it the
teachers of the finest countries in the world in this industry.
Take advantage of the surface area of the vehicles and the locomotive in the solar power generation, which can be
used in the management of the locomotive or train services.
Construction of bridges or tunnels instead of the train barrier.
Use electronic signaling systems and tracking systems.
Providing new locomotives and new train cars.
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Construction of a new railway outside the residential block in the desert and entering the world of high-speed rail.
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